There have been plenty of fun beauty challenges [1] surfacing on YouTube recently. But a recent YouTube challenge is encouraging beauty personalities to use their platform to promote one with a deeper meaning.
YouTube vloggers and makeup pros Alissa Ashley [2] and Alyssa Forever [3] teamed up to create the B.O.M.B. Challenge. B.O.M.B., which is an acronym for Black Owned Makeup Brands, is a challenge created to encourage the YouTube beauty community to bring more awareness to underrated black-owned cosmetics brands. The duo tagged other YouTubers, asking that they create a full makeup look using products from black-owned cosmetics lines.
Jackie Aina was among the beauty experts to take the B.O.M.B Challenge. She prefaced her video by letting her nearly 800,000 followers know the objective of her tutorial and the overall challenge. She continued to express that though the purpose of the B.O.M.B movement is to spotlight black-owned makeup lines, it is far from an exclusive challenge. In fact, many of the brands used in the tutorial carry products with hues that flatter a diverse range of complexions, making them suitable for people of all races. Examples in the tutorial include Coloured Raine Cosmetics [4], Lena Lashes [5], and Shea Moisture [6] (but you can find the complete list in her link description box).
Jackie encouraged her followers and fellow YouTubers to take Alissa [7] and Alyssa's [8] challenge in hopes of spreading awareness to these underrated brands and their offerings. "If you can slather 100 different highlighters [9] on your face, I don't see how far-fetched it is to ask someone who is not black to support black-owned beauty brands," she declared to her followers. She went on to use the high-pigment, high-quality products, creating a gorgeous Summer-approved makeup look boasting glitzy emerald eyes and a peach-pink pout.
In an industry where so many black women are still not catered to by major brands, it excites us to see YouTubers like like Alissa, Alyssa, and Jackie using their platforms to truly make the beauty industry a more inclusive and diverse place. Hopefully the efforts of the B.O.M.B. challenge will encourage makeup-lovers of all races to step outside of their comfort zone and embrace lesser-known beauty companies. If you'd like to get a head start on your own B.O.M.B. challenge, start by checking out some products created by these inspiring black women [10].